Imperial Stetson with some damage...

[havershaw]

Hey all, here's a question. I managed to score an Imperial Stetson for practically nothing. The felt is wonderful, but it's got what I suspect are mildew spots on it - both on the hat and on the ribbon. (I'm guessing it's mildew from the smell.) I've been fortunate in that I've rarely bought a hat with mildew problems on the outside. Am I going to hurt the hat at all by trying to clean it, and what would anybody recommend for cleaning? I don't think I've ever used anything on my hats other than a damp, soft cloth. Will I make things worth with the damp cloth? The hat is a toffee-colored brown, and it has a Cavanagh-edge.

 

[jamespowers]

Hmmm.... Mildew is kind of tough. There is one thing that kills it and where you are there is likely plenty of it----ultraviolet light from the sun. Sit it out int he sun for a few hours and then brush it. The mildew should come off failry easy. The problem is that mildew could be down in the fur where the sun can't get it all---not to mention the possibility of fading the hat.
If it were me with a higher end hat like that, I would just have it professionally cleaned. The dry cleaning solution most hatters use will kill it all for good with no worries of it coming back. For the price you paid it is still cost effective to spend the $35 or so to be certain.

Regards to all,

J

 

[havershaw]

Thanks, J. I'll give it a couple of days of UV treatment and see how that fares.

 

[fedoralover]

Havershaw, I've had success cleaning hats with Naptha. Make sure you use it outside as it is flammable. I put it on a terry cloth rag and wipe it counter clockwise. You need to do the entire hat with it, if you don't you'll see where you started and stopped. It does a decent job of getting odors out. Believe or not you can also use white vinegar or laquer thinner to clean felt. Yes, I've tried both of them. I like the Naptha the best.

fedoralover

 

[Art Fawcett]

Youv'e got the right idea fedoralover, but in the case of mildew I would soak the hat rather than just wipe it. there could easily be spores under the surface so we need to kill them all.
If the surface wipe doesn't work for you havershaw, just send it up to me & I'll fix you up.

Cheers

 

[havershaw]

I may just send it to you if I can't brush it out. It could maybe use a reblock anyway.
I actually have three or four hats that I've reblocked using Fedora's block that he sold me a while back, but I can't manage the replacement of the sweat, liner, or ribbon.
By the way, is it possible to clean sweat stains out of a hat without destroying the crown's shape? I have a 30s Borsalino that has been my main hat for the past couple of years, and I've realized in the past few weeks that there's a lot of dark staining around the base of the crown (and the whole ribbon is several shades darker than it was originally, but it's at least uniform and looks great, I think). It could also be from the vinatge hair oil I was using for a while. Anyway, it definitely needs a cleaning - but the shape of the dents in the crown is my all-time favorite hat I've ever seen, in films or otherwise. Do you think you could clean it without popping out the dents in the crown? or at least, without soaking it and having to reblock or anything like that.